


my feet to the beat of yours

by amadeusofnohr



Series: FE Rarepair Week 2018 [6]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Echoes Spoilers, F/F, Getting Together, Light Pining, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 13:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15558255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amadeusofnohr/pseuds/amadeusofnohr
Summary: To celebrate the alliance of Zofia and Rigel, Celica and Alm decide to throw an extravagant ball. Mae is, as Celica's best friend, of course invited. It's a little difficult being in love with your best friend, but Mae's been managing, even though the unrequited look doesn't really suit her. But, as it turns out, her feelings aren't as unrequited as she thinks.(For FE Rarepair Week, Day 6: balls)





	my feet to the beat of yours

“WOAHHHHHHH!” shouts Mae. “This place is A-MAZING!” She earns herself the disapproving stares of the guards on duty. Boey slaps his hand over her mouth.

“Quiet!” he hisses into her ear, too little, too late. Celica just looks amused, so Mae figures it wasn’t the worst offence in the world

“Sorry,” she whispers back, a little sheepish. “It’s just so different!”

Zofia Castle has changed a lot in the year or so since the last time they stepped foot here, in the midst of their journey to find Mila. Back then, it had been a little dusty and decrepit, freshly freed from the evil Chancellor Desaix. He clearly hadn’t taken good care of the place, a symptom of the times that even royalty couldn’t escape.

Now it’s freshly polished, newly furnished, and filled with busybody nobles and bustling guards. Celica’s changed too, dressed in elaborate robes with golden lining, a crown atop her head. She hasn’t seen her in _forever_ , only exchanging letters. She looks a lot more stressed than she used to, her face a little more weary, with faint bags under her eyes and a lag in her step.

Celica leads them to a private room where they settle around a small table, and a servant brings them tea. Mae sniffs it warily before making the executive decision to dump a few good spoonfuls of sugar into it. Boey sighs.

“Just because you like gross bitter tea doesn’t mean I do, too.” she sticks out her tongue at him. Celica raises an eyebrow. “I mean, I’m sure it’s of the highest quality for tea and all, Celica, really! It’s just not my thing.” To further prove her point, she pours half the saucer of cream into her cup. Celica giggles, and Mae tries not to preen. Laughter looks good on her. It always has, and Mae’s always been good at inspiring it.

“I believe you. Maybe I’ll ask if there’s hot chocolate in the kitchens for you.” Her eyes twinkle.

Mae groans. “Don’t embarrass me in front of all your fancy friends! They’ll think I’m weird.”

“They probably already do.” says Boey helpfully. Mae smacks him.

“You bully me back in the Priory, we come all the way out here and you bully me here, too. I need better friends.” She takes a swig of her tea and wrinkles her nose. “Anyways, why _did_ you call us? It’s great to see you, it’s just out of the blue, y’know?”

Celica smiles. “I swear it’s important. Zofia is officializing it’s alliance with Rigel, and Alm and I decided to throw a ball to celebrate. It’s open to the general public, of course. It would mean a lot to me if both of you would attend.”

There’s silence.

“Um, isn’t that a little formal for us?” Mae can’t help but ask. They’re not anyone special, just random mages from some random isolated island. Just because the ball thing is technically open to the public doesn’t mean it’ll be acceptable for them to attend. And she doesn’t even own anything fancy, anyways. And Boey can’t even dance, he’ll just look stupid there. She opens her mouth to voice her extremely valid concerns, but Celica cuts her off.

“I thought you may say that, which is why I invited you up here instead of just sending invitations. Alm and I want all the people we fought with there, and _I_ want you there, as my closest friends. Genny’s already here. It’s tomorrow night.”

Mae’s heart flutters a bit at the praise, but Celica’s tone is a little off. Her eyes are dull, and she’s hiding a trembling hand behind her own cup of tea. Maybe the whole alliance idea is riskier than Mae thinks it is. Celica must be genuinely worried, so she can’t just not show up now. She’d be a terrible friend.

“You’ve become so devious,” she complains instead, waggling a finger at her.

“I do what I must to keep you two troublemakers in line.”

“Don’t blame me for Mae’s antics!” interjects Boey, offended. “I’m always perfectly presentable.”

Mae begins to list off all the times he’s made a scene by jumping at small noises, and Celica smiles, for real this time, and Mae hasn’t felt more at home in a while. She’d missed Celica with every fiber of her being before this, always feeling that empty space in her heart and in her conversations with Boey and Genny, all of them cognizant of the person missing from their dynamic, but everything feels right again right now, and that’s all that matters.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day, Mae regrets her decision. Someone comes by to drop off breakfast for her and Boey, and tells them that a tailor will be coming by later that afternoon to help them pick out outfits.

“This was the worst idea ever,” Mae wails, pacing about the room in frustration. She’s usually not one to overthink things, but here she is. Maybe it’s just that she feels flustered from seeing Celica again. Stupid useless heart. Boey’s watching her carefully. He’s probably onto her, since she isn’t that great at hiding her feelings. It’s a miracle Celica hasn’t noticed.

“Just confess to her already.” Boey says, crossing his arms. “You’re being ridiculous.” Ok, he’s definitely onto her.

“ _You’re_ ridiculous. I’m not going to ruin our entire friendship just because I can’t handle a little pining.”

Boey rolls his eyes. “You really thing Celica would shun you for something like that? She’s a good person.” He has a point, but Mae doesn’t like it, so she chooses to ignore it.

“She’s a queen now, it doesn’t matter what she thinks. She couldn’t marry a commoner, anyways.”

He sighs. “I never thought I’d see the day you gave up so easily on something.”

She goes quiet, cowed by his words.

“Anyways,” she says, because when you’re losing an argument, it’s time to change the subject. “What do you think you’ll wear?” Despite her words, she kind of does want to wear something that’ll dazzle Celica. She’s never been the type to dress up, so hopefully this tailor guy will know what he’s doing when he gets here.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mae tugs at her new clothes, a little unsure of herself. She takes a deep breath. _I look great, I look great, I look great,_ she repeats over and over again. Boey had given her a thumbs up and a wink, said Celica would love it.

She had decided a dress wasn’t her style, and instead opted for black pants and a pink tunic, complete with a short cape. Boey had chosen something similar, but in green, and was standing anxiously beside her, confidence gone.

“Maybe we should skip after all,” he mumbled, eyeing the fancy outfits of the nobles passing them by. They were holed up in an alcove near the entrance to the chosen ballroom, huddling in a corner to avoid being seen.

“No, we have to now. But you get to go first.” And Mae pushes him forward. He stumbles out of the alcove, earning a few odd looks. He glares back at her, dusting himself off, and strolling to the doors casually. In he goes, and now Mae’s alone.

She takes a deep breath, steeling herself, and charges in.

As expected, it’s extremely crowded. The decorations are gorgeous, the walls strung with banners of both Rigel and Zofia. The colors are a mix of reds and blues. There’s probably going to be a similar event in Rigel, too, since it’d be unfair to ask Rigelian citizens to travel all the way to Zofia Castle.

The musicians are playing lively music, starting the night off right. Mae does her best to mingle, and tries to pretend like she isn’t avoiding Celica. Celica looks amazing. Her hair is done up in an elaborate braided bun, held back by her tiara, her face framed with a veil. Her dress is lacey and elegant without being gaudy, and her makeup makes it look like she’s glowing. It’s an outfit worthy of a queen.

Of course, the ballroom is only so big, and Celica finds her eventually. She gives Mae a once over, eyes bright.

“You look gorgeous,” she says, and Mae blushes.

“You do too!” she blurts, and Celica smiles.

“Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” she asks, holding out a gloved hand. Mae’s putty in her hands, and places one of her hands on Celica’s hip and links the fingers of her other with Celica’s.

“You’ll probably need to watch your toes. Dancing isn’t my strong point.”

Celica smirks.

“I know. I was there when you learned, remember? So many broken tables.” In her defense, whoever thought teaching children how to dance in an enclosed space was an idiot. Mae huffs.

They keep chatting, swaying casually, and then the universe decides it hates Mae. She’d blame Mila or Duma, except she knows it can’t be, but there’s definitely still someone out there and they have a vendetta against her. The music goes slow and romantic, The sound of soft piano playing and the soulful hum of a violin fill the air.

Her and Celica lock eyes, and Mae goes to pull away, but Celica grips her shoulder tight and tugs her closer.

“One last dance?”

Mae can’t refuse, and so they press close, Mae extra careful not to ruin this by actually stomping on Celica’s exposed toes. The song reaches it climax, and wanting to enjoy this, because who knows when she’ll see Celica again after tonight, she trips her purposefully. Celica yelps and Mae grins, catching her before she hits the ground, executing a perfect dip.

Celica looks a tad exasperated, but then she simply laughs, exuberant. The song ends, and Celica rights herself, but she still doesn’t let go of Mae. Instead, her expression softens, and her eyes take on a determined gleam.

“I need you to come with me.” She pulls Mae by the hand, weaving between the crowd, heading for one of the balconies. Mae furrows her brows, but doesn’t protest.

The night air is cool, and the stars twinkle overhead. The moon is almost full. It’s a beautiful night, not a single cloud in the sky. Celica shuts the doors to the balcony behind them with finality.

“Are you going to return to Novis Isle after this?” Her words are oddly stilted.

Mae shrugs stiffly, not sure what’s happening. “Well, yeah. I don’t know what else I’d really do.”

Celica bites her lip, turning her gaze to the landscape.

“You know, if- if you wanted, you could stay here. In the castle.”

Mae frowns. “I appreciate the thought, Celica, I really do, but I don’t really belong here. All this fancy politics stuff, or the chivalric life of a knight, it doesn’t fit me.”

“It could.” Celica says softly. “You could belong here. With me.”

Surely, she doesn’t mean…

“We can be friends from far away. I’ll always be your best friend, distance or no distance.”

Celica inhales unsteadily, still not looking at her.

“And if I didn’t mean as a friend?”

Okay, that’s enough of talking in a circles. She steps whirls Celica around her. She can’t keep the hopeful look off her face.

“You mean, you like me? Like, _like_ like me?”

Celica’s face goes red. “Well, yes. To put it bluntly. I’ve said it before, but you’re wonderful, and kind, and always cheerful and there for me. I don’t want to lose you.”

Mae beams. “You read my mind! You’re thoughtful, and sweet, when you aren’t tricking your friends into attending your parties.” She clasps Celica’s hands in her own, squeezing tightly. “Oh, this is the best night EVER!”

Celica breaks into a grin. “I had hoped that’s what you would say.” She leans forward, planting a kiss on Mae’s cheek. “You don’t have to stay here, if you really do find all this royalty business that dreadful. But I would greatly prefer if you would visit often.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Mae promises, bouncing on her toes. “You’ve got me all riled up. How ‘bout we go dance some more, huh Celica? Show all those snotty nobles who’s boss.”

Celica rolls her eyes fondly, and back into the ballroom they go.

 

**Author's Note:**

> marriage to alm who?   
> Constructive criticism is welcome (esp re: Celicas character cuz i struggle with that...), and kudos are appreciated, as always :)


End file.
